"What would happen if the autism gene was eliminated from the gene pool?
You
would have a bunch of people standing around in a cave, chatting and
socializing and not getting anything done." – Temple Grandin
I
believe that autism awareness can do a lot of good in the world. I
believe every person on this planet has something to learn from every
other person, and true autism awareness makes that possible.
I don't believe that Autism Awareness Month, the way it exists now, is founded on that principle.
Autism
awareness, as defined by groups that claim to speak for autistic people
without listening to what autistic people have to say, instills nothing
more than a vague sense of pity in people who know nothing about
autism. It condenses what the autistic spectrum really is into a sound
byte, something to be heard and discarded.
I
am not a shell, or a worthless husk of a being. If I am a puzzle
piece, then the world is the rest of the puzzle and the only problem is
that I'm rotated the wrong way. I am not a computer program or an
automaton or a robot any more than the Internet is a series of tubes.
I am whole. I am me. And I like being me.
All
autism awareness tends to do as it is now is to let people pat
themselves on the back while not doing anything remotely useful. It
doesn't help that most of the attention during Autism Awareness Month
goes toward organizations that squander their money on deadly
"therapies" such as chelation--which is great for acute, recent heavy
metal toxicity, but useless for long-term toxicity in small amounts
(notwithstanding the fact that mercury does not cause autism)--and
electroshock.
If
this is going to be Autism Awareness Month, I'd like to see some actual
awareness being spread. I'd like to see people walk to end
institutional abuse (as is rampant in places such as the Judge
Rotenberg Center). I'd like to see accommodation and support for
autistic adults (because apparently when we turn 18, we magically
become neurotypical). I'd love to see accommodation and support for
parents of autistic children, because the easier things are for the
parents, the easier they are for their children. I'd like to see more
happy, healthy autistic people in the world, and feel-good autism
"awareness" does nothing to promote that. Just the opposite, in fact.
It teaches us that we are partial people unless we become
indistinguishable from our peers. It teaches us that the way we were
born is fundamentally wrong.
If
you go on an "autism walk" to benefit a group that actively harms
autistic people, you are deluding yourself into thinking you've done
good. If your idea of "autism awareness" is watching Rain Man,
you probably need more help than I can give you. If you feel sorry for
autistic people because they are autistic, you're part of the problem.
If an autistic person tells you he or she needs something to function
and you don't believe them, you're just being a jerk.
True
autism awareness means working to fill the needs of autistic people and
their families. If you're not sure what a person needs, ask. Take the
time to ask in a way the person you're asking can understand, and take
the time to understand the answer. And believe the answer you get.
(Images courtesy Oddizm and Asperger Square 8)
